2016 Year End Review- Part 2

For Part Two of my Year End review, I wanted to highlight a few of the moments that stand out most in my mind from 2016. I love feeling the emotion of weddings, the excitement and of course the romance! I hope you enjoy walking through a few of these highlights from one amazing year!

BEST WAY TO HALT THE WEDDING RUSH

This might not be totally new for 2016 but the “first look with Dad” and the “letter exchange” parts of the day lead to some of my favorite wedding moments of the entire year. If you’re planning a wedding day, you may want to consider adding these to your schedule. The first look with Dad allows you to share a few moments with your Father before you walk down the aisle. The letter exchange give the bride and groom an opportunity to say a few words to each other (without seeing each other) before you walk down the aisle. These quiet, private moments allowed us to capture some of the true emotions that sometimes get lost in the rush and hurry of the wedding day, but are really key to what the day is all about.

First Look with Dad

Christie made a grand entrance down the Adam’s Pond stairs to great her Dad before the ceremony. I love his reaction. See more of Christie’s wedding here.

Lisa’s first look with her Dad was one of my favorite of the year. See more of Lisa here.

Letter Exchanges

From Megan & Joey’s River Road and Jasmine House wedding. View more of their wedding here.

FAVORITE ROMANTIC PHOTOS

One part of the wedding day that I look forward to the most is when we get to take a few moments with the bride and groom at their reception to grab a few more quiet, romantic photos of just the two of them. Here’s one from Ashley & Keith’s Palmetto Collegiate wedding. Ashley set up these candles around the steps and it made the perfect setting for some portraits with a more intimate feel!

Even though they had a church wedding, we borrowed the archway at the River Road and Jasmine House for a few portraits of Lisa & Shane at their reception. This one was even picked as the feature photo for the weekly highlights of Huffington Post Weddings. View more of their wedding here!

FAVORITE RUSTIC PHOTOS

Meredith was married in Laurens, SC with a reception at her parent’s country home. The red barn in their yard made the perfect backdrop for some fun rustic-looking photos. See more of Meredith & Taylor’s wedding here.

I love, love, love the old waterwheel at the Corley Mill House and Gardens so of course my favorite image of Morgan & John wedding is this romantic moment in front of the wheel.

Mary Beth and Kevin were married at a friend’s home in Gilbert and I was thrilled to see an uncut field next to the reception tent that we could use for some late evening photos. So sweet!

FAVORITE FIRST LOOKS

While some people choose to keep tradition by waiting until the ceremony time to see each other for the first time, I’m always excited when couples are open to the idea of a first look. This private moments allowing the bride and groom to interact with each other before the ceremony and it allows us as photographers to capture some really candid reactions of the bride and groom together for the first time on their wedding day- and bonus, we get to chance photograph the bride and groom in more locations than ever without keeping their guests waiting at the reception.

I was pretty chilly outside for my first wedding of the 2016 year, but Lisa and Cameron’s sweet first look moments still warms my heart. See more of their Stone River wedding here.

And I don’t think you can find a more dramatic first look backdrop than the Ravenel bridge in Charleston! See more of Regina & Roger’s Harborside Charleston wedding here on their Borrowed and Blue feature blog post.

COOLEST CEREMONY PERSONALIZATION

Mike grew up on a cattle farm so for Amber and his wedding, the couple decided to do a “branding ceremony.” They ordered a custom made A+M brand, brought a little portable fire and branded a sign to hang up in their new home. See more from Amber & Mike’s Stone River wedding here.

FAVORITE FIRST DANCE

There was something about the light and the emotion of Lauren & Justin’s first dance under the tent at the River Road and Jasmine House that made it one of the most memorable first dances of the year. See more from their wedding here.

FUNNIEST CAKE SMASH

It’s a good thing that I go into action-photographer-mode during the cake cutting because I think Emily & Brett’s epic cake smash caught everyone by surprise. As a twist to the regular cake tradition, Emily took her cake and smashed it in the best man’s face and Brett sent his flying towards the maid of honor. For myself and the guests, it was a hilarious twist on the expected events.

FAVORITE BLACK AND WHITE IMAGES

This is just a collection of some of my favorite black and white images of the year.

I am so thankful to all the couples that allowed us to be part of their wedding days this past year and I’m so looking forward to what amazing things 2017 will bring!